rt-ac87u and asuswrt-merlin

[speedyrules]

hi,

i am totally a newbie, so i want to apologize in advance for my missing knowledge

so, i have a rt-ac87u on the latest version.
having:
- vpn server running
- dyndns working
- distributed some ips fix to some devices
- wifi running
- and other adjustments

but apparently the standard firmware does not give me all the speed i can get.
see this comment here: https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/ProductRating/the-flagship-router-for-gigabit-internet-fiber7-144424

my questions are now:
1. what are the differences between the standard firmware and the merlin firmware?
2. would the newest merlin solve my speed problem?
3. would my custom settings get all lost or is there a away to keep them with the merlin firmware?
4. where would i get the latest merlin firmware for my router?

thanks in advance
speedy

 

[RMerlin]

Most of your answers can be found in the sticky post at the top of this forum:

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-custom-firmware-for-asus-routers.7846/

 

[speedyrules]

thanks for the reply

so, question 1 and 4 is over-answered.. too much information
looks like question 2 needs to be verified by myself...

BUT, i could not find anything about question 3
any help here?

cheers

 

[L&LD]

thanks for the reply

so, question 1 and 4 is over-answered.. too much information
looks like question 2 needs to be verified by myself...

BUT, i could not find anything about question 3
any help here?

cheers

That comment you linked to is almost half a year old. Including not stating what firmware was from Asus and what version firmware was later used. In other words, I would disregard that comment.

In the link that RMerlin provided, it hints at what the answer actually is (as little change as possible, which should make the maximum speeds identical, save for bug fixes).

You do not state what your speed problem is. You are assuming you have one.

To port your settings over, you may want to try using john9527's NVRAM Save/Restore utility.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/user-nvram-save-restore-utility-r22.19521/

At the very least, it will give you a human readable output of all your settings.

I would also suggest you use the following link to ensure you setup your new firmware correctly the first time.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


Combined with the restore utility, it can save you a lot of time trying to find phantom bugs because of trying to run a different firmware without doing a proper reset to factory defaults and then manually and minimally reconfiguring the router afterwards to secure the router and connect to your ISP.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC87U can definitely reach near gigabit performance, regardless of which firmware you use (Asus or mine). Some people were able to reach over 900 Mbps on a speed test. Make sure that NAT acceleration is enabled. Some features such as Traditional QoS are not compatible, and will force NAT acceleration to be disabled, which will drop performance to around 400 Mbps max.

 

[speedyrules]

well, ok .. good to talk to smart people

i mean, you are absolutely right. i am assuming i have a speed problem in the asus router.
the causes of this are:

• speed tests (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5118293694)
• the comment of the guy i read (https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/ProductRating/the-flagship-router-for-gigabit-internet-fiber7-144424)

basically it can also be the provider giving me bad performance .. but before blaming him i would like to make sure that the issue is not in my setup.
other hardware (cables, notebook..) should not be an issue

so you are saying it would be enough to have nat acceleration enabled in Advanced_SwitchCtrl_Content.asp ..
in my settings it is set to "auto" (the other option is "disabled") and the jumbo frame option is "disabled" and qos is off, which gives me the performance mentioned above.

so, any further suggestions?

again: maybe trying a merlin firmware could be an option. but what would really annoy me is to loose the settings and spend hours getting it right again.. and this in any direction. meaning: from original to merlin or back again if it does not work for some reason.
and it might be worth trying with NVRAM and check if my settings are i need are actually somehow saved .. which i understand to work with the original and the merlin firmware, right?

 

[RMerlin]

If you are upgrading from the latest (or last two) Asus firmware then you can directly switch to my firmware without having to reconfigure everything. I doubt however it would make a difference in performance.

 

[GGavan]

In order to achieve 1GB you need to have also an enough powerful computer. Over 500 MB my ISP is recommending i7 CPU and SSD hard drive. It is this your case?

 

[speedyrules]

well, as mentioned before, i think it should not be the problem .. i have a lenovo t450s with the newest drivers installed.

some more details. (btw. "The Windows Experience Index assesses key system components on a scale of 1.0 to 1.9")
Component Details and score:
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5600U CPU @ 2.60GHz (score 7.2)
Memory (RAM) 12.0 GB (score 7.5)
Graphics Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (score 6.8)
Gaming graphics 1696 MB Total available graphics memory (score 6.8)
Primary hard disk 338GB Free (477GB Total) (score 7.9)
Windows 7 Enterprise

System
Manufacturer LENOVO
Model 20BX000TMZ
Total amount of system memory 12.0 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2
Storage
Total size of hard disk(s) 477 GB
Disk partition (C 338 GB Free (477 GB Total)
Graphics
Display adapter type Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500
Total available graphics memory 1696 MB
Network
Network Adapter Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (3) I218-LM
Network Adapter Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265